America is a sick society

[Bob Butler 54]

(12-20-2016, 05:29 PM)David Horn Wrote: Our largest area city is small by urban standards (about 180.000 in the metro area), but lost it's main industry with the railroad pulled out.  Now, they make do with an active arts scene, ecotourism, and seven craft breweries.  Two large craft brewers are in the process of adding East Coast capacity too, so it may be a lot more than that in the near future.  The area also has about 12 small wineries.  I have two within 3 miles of me.

By comparison, Asheville NC has about 20 breweries and the winery at Biltmore Estate.    Ii assume there are other wineries as well.  Susan Brombacher would know better than me.

As the Silicon Valley attracts high tech start ups, it sounds like your area is attracting wineries and breweries.  As it is easy to find programers and technicians in the Silicon Valley, I suspect your area has a lot of people who can make a good drink.

It's good when an area has expertise in one style of goods or services.  Such areas have a leg up on other areas.

Alas, the entire country can't solve their economic problems by producing alcoholic beverages.  We just couldn't drink it all.  

Having half a dozen small companies employing the same number of people as the old Rust Belt factories is fine.

But more growing industries would be a good thing.